


Arthur & Gwen 4eva

by lindsey_grissom



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-28
Updated: 2012-10-28
Packaged: 2017-11-17 05:00:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/547882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lindsey_grissom/pseuds/lindsey_grissom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everybody gets a case of cold feet a few minutes before their wedding, even the Prince of Wales.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Arthur & Gwen 4eva

**Author's Note:**

> Written as a birthday gift to my dear Ellie.

"Arthur?"

Arthur looks away from the mirror at the sound of his name.  Merlin leans in the doorway, his hip balanced against the frame.  "Yeah?"

"It's time." 

Arthur frowns, even as his heart gives an odd little jump, and looks back at the mirror.  Something isn't right.  "Give me a minute." 

Merlin lurches away from the door, tripping over the edge of the rug as though he hasn't done the exact same thing every day for over ten years.

"You don't have a minute, Arthur.  We need to leave now."  He comes to stand behind Arthur and frowns down at him.  "What's up?"

Arthur grimaces and for the hundredth time curses the easy way that Merlin looses the effects of his Oxford education when it comes to his speech.

"Nothing, I'm just not...ready."  He says, trailing off when he realises how that sounds.

"Arthur, you've been ready for this for a year." 

Arthur briefly meets his friend's eyes in the mirror before glancing away and back at his dress uniform.  Something still isn't right with it.

He tugs at the hem of his jacket.

"Oh, for…turn around."  Arthur does as he's told, an instinctive reaction whenever Merlin actually orders him to do anything; it's so rare after all that Arthur hasn't built up an immunity to it yet.

Merlin makes quick work of unbuttoning and re-buttoning Arthur's jacket, a little smug smile on his face. When he's finished he takes Arthur by the shoulders and turns him to face the mirror again.

"There."  He says and squeezes Arthur's shoulders once before letting him go.  "You missed one."

Arthur tries to frown at the slight blush that he can feel building in his cheeks, but gives up when met with the very real smile on Merlin's lips.  "Thanks."  He says, meaning a little more than the buttons.

"Hey, what're friends slash bodyguards for?  Besides," he adds, hands slipping behind his back and pulling his own dress uniform tight across his chest; "got to have something for the memoirs later."

Arthur sticks out an elbow, hitting Merlin right in his puffed up chest.  "You wouldn't."  He says with confidence.

"They have to learn of your inadequacies eventually, Arthur.  How can you rule a country when you can't keep track of what button goes in what hole?"

Merlin springs and ducks away as Arthur swings his fist at him.  Arthur follows him, laughing aloud when Merlin stumbles backwards over a chair and lands sprawled out across the floor.

"Idiot."  He says, bending down and offering his hand to Merlin.  "Get up before you crease those trousers."

Merlin grabs at the offered hand, leaping off the floor and running back to the mirror, turning this way and that to get a better look at his behind.  "Gaius is going to kill me."  He says, voice ragged. 

Arthur laughs and scoops up his cap from the bed.  "You're fine."  He says eventually, laughing again as Merlin checks himself one last time before turning back to him.

"You ready now, your Highness?"  Merlin snarks and Arthur's smile drops.  "Arthur?"

Arthur moves to the window, peeling back the curtain and looking out across the Camelot skyline.  Even from here he can see the rails lining the streets, the mix of blue, white and red that he knows make up the people waiting behind them.  He wonders if they're feeling the same mix of _nervoushappyscaredexcitedlovelovelove_ as he is.  He doubts it.

"How can I do this to Gwen?"  He says, eyes on a large banner making its way between the trees. 

"You're not doing anything to Gwen."  Merlin moves to stand beside him, their shoulders touching.  "She's made her choice."

"What if it's the wrong one?"  The banner's red with gold writing and Arthur can just make out his name and something else, before it vanishes behind the next great oak.

"She chose you."  Merlin says.  "So, of course she's made a huge mistake."  Arthur growls and pushes against Merlin's shoulder.  "But it's her decision."

Arthur nods.  He can see Gwen's name on the banner too now, connected to his by a shining ampersand.  "Maybe there shouldn't have been a choice."  He mummers, heart thumping against his chest.  He feels sick, but he can’t be sure if the cause is his thoughts or what's about to happen.

Merlin goes quiet a moment and Arthur knows from years of experience that Merlin's mouth is hanging open like a particularly stupid cod fish.

"I can't believe you just said that."  He manages eventually.  "Gwen would kill you.  Hell, Morgana would castrate you for that."  Arthur gives a little start at the thought of his sister.  He shudders; Morgana _did_ threaten to emasculate him if he ever so much as thought about treating the women in his life as anything less than equals.  She had been ten and _terrifying._

"Arthur,"  Merlin says when they've both finished a quick check of the room to satisfy themselves that Morgana hasn't slipped in while they've been distracted.  "Gwen knows what she's getting into.  She's already done the hard stuff; meeting Uther, putting up with your privileged arse for more than an hour without running for the hills."  Merlin smirks, looking out of the window.  "This is the easy bit."

"What if she's not ready for them?"  Arthur asks, nodding his head at the people outside the window.

"None of us are ever ready for them.  Hasn't stopped me from being here.  Hasn't stopped you."  Merlin adds.

Arthur nods. 

"Besides," Merlin continues; "they love you and they love her because you love her."

The banner finally reveals itself fully, each letter a foot in height, bright gold declaring **Arthur & Gwen 4 eva**.  Arthur flinches at the spelling even as a smile tugs at his lips.

"You're right."  He says, turning back to the room and slipping the cap onto his head.

"Why do you always sound so surprised when you say that?"

"Well, it happens so rarely, I forget it’s possible."  Arthur says, heading for the door.

Merlin frowns, not moving.

Arthur looks back at him over his shoulder.  "Come on Merlin, I have a wedding to attend, can't be late because my useless bodyguard can't remember how to walk."

Merlin jerks forward.  "I have no idea what Gwen sees in you, you know.  Should have let Gaius examine her head the first time she visited the palace."  He huffs, moving so that he stands in front of Arthur as they leave the room, nodding his head at the other guards as he passes them.

"Oh Merlin, stop denying it, you know you love me.  Everyone loves me; I'm the Prince."  Arthur lets the smuggest smile he can generate slide onto his face.

"You're delusional; I knew Morgana hit you on the head one time too many as a child.  Are you going to make it through the ceremony without your ego exploding over the guests?"

"Idiot."  Arthur says as Merlin opens the doors, the cameras flashing bright and the cheers ringing out.

"Prat."  Merlin replies and steps out into the sun.

\+ + +

"That wasn't too bad."  Merlin says later, collapsing back against the couch, kicking off his shoes and unbuttoning his jacket.

Gwen laughs at him and leans further into Arthur's side.  Arthur brings his hand up to his wife's hair and twirls a lock of it around his finger.  _Wife,_ he grins.

Merlin looks at him and rolls his eyes.  "Gwen, tell your husband he looks like an idiot when he does that."

Arthur glares at him, but Gwen laughs again and God, Arthur loves her so much.

The door opens and Merlin springs up, fingers fumbling at his side for the gun that Arthur knows he has even though tonight he's here as a friend and not part of the Royal Guard.

Morgana slips inside, kicking the door closed with her foot and shaking her head at Merlin as he slumps back onto the couch.

"Just me."  She says unnecessarily, patting Merlin's head as she passes him.

Merlin frowns at her, reaching up to shake out his nest of hair because God forbid Morgana's action should smooth it out at all.

"Everything okay?"  Arthur asks and he swears his sister's eyes soften when she looks at him and Gwen.

"Fine.  Father's still dancing and cousin Elena's trying to talk the band into playing the conga next, but I've already spoken to them."

Threatened them, she means, although they probably won't think of it like that.

"Thank you."  He says, tugging Gwen impossibly closer and pressing a kiss against her head.  He can feel her breathing evening out as it puffs against his neck, and he grabs the throw from the back of the couch, tucking it around her, his fingers brushing against the silk of her skin and the soft cotton of the cream dress she changed into after the ceremony.

When he looks away from her, Morgana smiles at him.

"What?"

Her smile grows.  "You look happy."

Arthur nods, feeling his chest tighten.  "I am."  He says, even though 'happy' isn't the half of it.  "Thank you."

He looks at his sister and feels like he did when they were little and didn't need words.

"Is anyone going to thank me?"  Merlin interrupts and Arthur looks at him, slouched so low in his seat that his legs stretch out beneath the coffee table.

"For?"  Arthur asks, amused despite himself.

"What do you mean, 'for'?  If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't even be here, parts intact." 

Arthur's eyes widen and he shakes his head quickly, a jerky movement that is about as subtle as a freight train.

"And don't shake your head at me, you know what I'm talking about."  Arthur closes his eyes, bracing himself.  Somehow, Merlin got hold of a glass of champagne at the first reception and no matter what he likes to say to the other Guards, Merlin can't handle his drink; there's no way to stop him now.

"Merlin, what are you talking about?"  Damn Morgana and her curiosity.  If Gwen wasn't a comfortable, sleeping weight against him, pinning him down, Arthur is fairly certain he would be making a swift exit about now.

"Him."  Merlin says, waving a lazy hand almost in Arthur's direction.  "Second guessing; 'maybe this is wrong, _Mer_ lin.' 'She's too good for me _Mer_ lin.'"  Arthur frowns, he hadn't said that; it's true, but he hadn't said it.  "'I shouldn't have given her a choice, Merlin.'"  Unfortunately, he did say that.  Merlin finally falls silent.  _Too bloody late._

He can feel Morgana's eyes on him and he doesn't care if it makes him a coward, he is not opening his own.  There's the soft swish of material and then he feels her above him.

"I'll let that go as nerves" she whispers, voice harsh and threatening in his ear.  "but you so much as think that again and your balls are mine."

Any other time, the crass words from her mouth would have him laughing.  Instead he swallows hard and nods his head once.  Her small hand reaches out and pats his cheek.

"Good boy."  She says and moves away.  Arthur opens his eyes at the click of the door and glares over at Merlin.

"What?"  His friend frowns, eyes confused and distant and Arthur shakes his head, too happy tonight to care; tomorrow though is a different matter.

He lets his cheek rest on Gwen's head and sighs contentedly.

Tomorrow, they'll be the Prince and Princess of Wales again, large parts of them both belonging to the People.

But not tonight.  Tonight they belong to each other, fully and in every way possible.  Just Gwen and Arthur - _'4 eva'_.

Arthur smiles; he can probably get used to that.

 


End file.
